A complete itinerary to discover the area of ​​Villar San Costanzo on horseback. A complete route which, thanks to dirt roads and some asphalted sections, leads up the hill behind the town to the paragliding take-off point, a spectacular panoramic viewpoint overlooking the Cuneo plain.

Reach Villar San Costanzo. Follow the signs for the Ciciu del Villar nature reserve and leave the car in the large car park in front.

Go down via Ciciu, the access road to the nature reserve of the same name. After eight hundred metres, after passing a canal, turn left. Once you reach the roundabout of the parish church of San Pietro in Vincoli, an ancient Benedictine abbey, turn left again, pass in front of the green area and take via Pramallè, heading north. Follow it for eight hundred meters of gentle descent, continuing straight at the crossroads.

Ignoring some secondary branches that lead to groups of houses, we begin to gain altitude. Further on, when the surface becomes dirt, the road known as stra di mort, “road of the dead”, so called because it was once used to bring the deceased down to the valley, begins. After a curve you pass near a votive pillar surrounded by unexpected prickly pears which, thanks to the mild climate and excellent exposure to the sun, find a favorable habitat in this area.

With a long winding path, alternating steep stretches with almost flat ones, you arrive at the asphalt road that goes from Morra del Villar to Rivoira. Follow it slightly uphill to the left for a hundred metres, then at a crossroads turn right towards Rivoira Inferiore (817 m). With a slightly flat stretch you reach the houses of the village beyond which the surface becomes a dirt road.

After two hundred meters at a crossroads, keep left and continue into a mixed forest with a prevalence of chestnut trees. Ignoring all the lateral deviations, you reach the Strada dei Cannoni, an ancient and very long military road at high altitude which from the Rossana pass leads to the Bicocca hill, which is asphalted in this section.

Follow it uphill to the left. The road soon becomes a dirt road and winds sinuously through the woods and blueberry plants. Once you reach a crossroads, continue straight and shortly after reach the anonymous Liretta hill (1,075 m), surrounded by vegetation.

Here it is worth making a short detour to the left onto the dirt road closed by a barrier that leads to the paragliding take-off point, an exceptional panoramic point overlooking the plain.

Returning to the Liretta hill, continue on the dirt road that descends to the left. After passing a picnic area, keep right on the road which first slightly descends and then almost flat, faithfully follows the recesses of the mountain.

After a long stretch, some hairpin bends cause you to lose altitude as you pass the Belliardi roof (941), downstream of which the surface becomes asphalted. A little further down there is a rock formation similar to a giant mushroom typical of the nearby Ciciu del Villar nature reserve.

Once you reach the asphalt road of Foresti, turn right. The first part of the Occitan Routes develops along this stretch, a long multi-stage itinerary that climbs from this side of the Maira valley to return from the other.

Ignoring any deviations, follow the road which, first asphalted and then dirt, cuts the slope through the woods. With slight ups and downs after a couple of kilometers you arrive at the splendid abbey of San Costanzo al Monte, composed of the church superimposed on a crypt of exceptional size, of very ancient origins and remodeled several times over the centuries.

Continue ignoring a dirt road that goes up to the right and follow the small road with a concrete surface that goes down. After passing a clearing, the surface becomes asphalted and you soon reach the scruffy sanctuary of Santa Maria Delibera (730 m), whose origins date back to the 11th century but which has been remodeled several times over the centuries.

Continue for a few dozen meters on asphalt and at the bend turn onto a nice dirt road that branches off to the left. Some particular wooden benches can become an excellent spot for a break.

After three hundred meters keep all the way to the left. The dirt road narrows to a path and after a slight climb it begins to descend sharply, joining a dirt road. Follow it to the left passing a dressage field.

Further down, having reached a small asphalt road, turn left, passing a small church and going down onto the provincial road leading to Villar San Costanzo. Keeping to the cycle/pedestrian path, follow it to the left, passing the Cannetum park, a theme park where structures from eras ranging from Prehistory to the Middle Ages have been reconstructed.

Cannetum was the original name of Villar San Costanzo, when it was still an ancient Roman garrison. The name derives from the marshy land, subsequently reclaimed by the Benedictine monks who settled in the area, in which nothing but reeds grew.

Once you reach the parish church of San Pietro in Vincoli, all you have to do is follow the itinerary taken on the outward journey back to the Ciciu del Villar nature reserve, a protected area that is worth visiting in which there are several hundred rock formations similar to giant mushrooms.

Photos and descriptions by Valerio Dutto of Cuneotrekking.com